Prabhupada : When the brahmana asked the woman who the man lying on the floor was, she answered that he was her spiritual master and that she was perplexed about who to do in his absence. At such a time the Supersoul immediately appears, provided the devotee is purified in heart by following the direction of the spiritual master. A sincere devotee who follows the instructions of the spiritual master certainly gets direct instructions from him from Supersoul. This is confirmed in Caitanya-caritamrta : guru-krsna- prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija. If the devotee serves his spiritual master sincerely, Krsna automatically becomes pleased. Yasya Prasadad bhagavad - prasadah. By satisfying the spiritual master, one automatically satisfies Krsna. Thus the devotee becomes enriched by both the spiritual master and Krsna. The Supersoul is eternally the friend of the living-entity and always remains with him. The Supersoul has been ready to help the living-entity, even before the creation of this ma
him (2)
Srila Prabhupada - "If there is no chance of directly serving the spiritual master,
then the devotee does serve him by remembering his instructions only.
There is no difference between the spiritual master's instructions and the spiritual master himself."
We should always remember that a person who is reluctant to accept a spiritual master for initiation is sure to become baffled in his endeavour to go back to Godhead. Such person who is not properly initiated may present himself as a great devotee but in fact he is sure to encounter many many stumbling blocks on his way of progressive march towards spiritual realisation and the net result is that he has to continue the term of his material existence without any relief. Such helpless person is compared with a ship without a rudder as such a careless ship cannot reach her destination. It is imperative therefore to accept a spiritual master if at all anyone desires to gain the favour of the Lord. Service of the spiritual master is esse
